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Young Gouldians

Breeding Gouldians is a lot easier than most people will have you believe (it helps if you read all the books and have some previous finch experience, etc.) and so much fun! Yes, they are a bit more succeptable to cold windy conditions than other small finches. However as long as the aviaries are protected from bad weather, all will be fine. We have been very fortunate in our breeding with approximately 30 - 40 young born each season. We are only small keepers & breeders! Our birds survive the winter with no problems at all. Pictures below show young normals, dilutes and yellows in the nest. You can easily see the difference.
We try to monitor the hatching of the young in most nests, however we do not cause them any undue stress by over-intruding. If the parents want privacy we will leave them be and not look in at all. We are not ones to risk losing some babies for a quick peek! These pictures were taken at opportune times when the parents were out feeding and any disturbance was minimal.

1. A glimpse into the private world of the Gouldian.
It is exciting to see a newly born Gouldian.

New born baby with eggs still to hatch
2. Three babies, with one at left being yellow.

Three babies in nest.

3. Two normal and a single yellow baby. About one week old.

One week old babies
4. Three yellow babies almost two weeks old.

Three yellows in nest

5. Here is a nice picture of a young yellow baby, at about two weeks of age.

Young Yellow with pin feathers
6. This little one has left the nest on a 40 degree day. He has flown/fallen at least seven feet to this position on the aviary floor. At the end of the hot day I placed him back in the nest. He spent the next week in the nest and is fine, with no injury.

First day out!

7. This photo is of a clutch from 2003. The parents are a
Red Face Double Factor Yellow Cock and a Normal
Red Face Hen. Among the young are three normals, one
yellow and one dilute cock. The differences in plumage/skin colour are very striking, from as early as the first day after birth.

Single clutch with 3 normals, 1 Yellow, 1 Dilute
8. Here are some of last years (2003) young. Among them are Normals, Dilutes and at least two Yellows.

Young Gouldians in holding aviary
9. The young in this photo are those from the earlier images,
now taken at the beginning of their first molt.

At the start of the breeding season

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